You're not alone, Mike! Her mind-bogglingly crass remark likening Brexit to slaves rising up against their owners was just the latest in a long line of utterances that made me ashamed to think that she's ever represented British voters, and now does so once again.

As for Strictly... don't get me started. That, I'm a Celebrity, Love Island, Big Brother and the rest are touted as harmless fun but for a number of reasons I think they're actually extremely harmful to the national psyche, not least when the numerous "celebrity" iterations can have precisely the effect you describe: an utter horror like Ann Widdecombe can be de-fanged and cuddlified and taken to the bosoms of millions of viewers/voters who decide that she must be OK (or, Heaven help us, "lovely" - sorry, Mrs Mike E ) because she's such a "great sport" and is "human". She's certainly not the former, and she's barely even the latter.

And that, of course, is precisely why people like her go on shows like that - it effectively gives them a blank slate on which to re-write their public persona. I hesitate to use a Nazi reference but what the hell, I'm going to anyway: Joseph Goebbels (Hitler's Minister of Propaganda for those who may not know) would have absolutely loved the chance to exploit the format of "reality" TV shows. (And as for Jeremy Kyle-like formats - need I say more!)

r4h4al wrote: I think she makes a good argument for Brexit. What is wrong with her comparing being in the EU to Slavery?

Do you not find the current freedoms you hold, to vote, to travel, to work doing whatever you want, to live wherever you want (in Europe!) a little insulting to slaves who were put on a ship and made to work in sugar plantations for 18 hours a day, with the alternative options being torture and death. Or modern day slaves, victims of human trafficking, unable to speak the language, threatened with murder if they try to escape.

It is quite an insulting analogy yet some voters have been brainwashed into thinking they go to their place of work in shackles, and a mysterious overseer in Brussels holds the key to their 'freedom'. That seems to be the only narrative they understand, that they genuinely share a fate with the oppression of slaves. As the poster above says, it is scary some people seem to genuinely accept this idea that the UK has been enslaved.

My views on her are a bit more nuanced and difficult to put into words – but I’ll have a go.

Her opinions and her general views on life I find range from being well-meaning but a bit off-colour in the modern world through to utterly crass, stupid and offensive. The latter would certainly include that ludicrous remark about slavery and the EU – but there are many other things she has come out with that are gob-smackingly awful and repellent.

But I can also see the ‘cuddly Ann’ about her in some respect. She is like a creature from another age – a slightly dotty old aunt who flips erratically from being warm, funny and occasionally fascinating to being embarrassing and truly offensive. I honestly don’t believe there’s anything calculating in this. It’s just she has an absolute certainty about her and SHE KNOWS that right-is-right and wrong-is-wrong …….by her own definitions that is. No amount of reasoning, evidence, facts etc. will ever cut through that iron conviction and her particular view of morality. It is very scary – but oddly reassuring too. Put it this way – I would trust her with my wallet, kids, house, bank details etc… and she wouldn’t abuse that trust for fear of being caught but because it would offend her deep sense of what is true and decent. Now how many politicians (or anybody for that matter) can we really, really say that about ? She is the type who would go through Hell and high water and suffer anything rather than compromise her own sense of right and wrong.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m in no way defending her views. But there is an innocent sort of honesty about her entirely absent from other despicable creatures like Nigel Farage or Boris Johnson to name just two who have malice and self-interest driving everything they do.

r4h4al wrote: I think she makes a good argument for Brexit. What is wrong with her comparing being in the EU to Slavery?

Do you not find the current freedoms you hold, to vote, to travel, to work doing whatever you want, to live wherever you want (in Europe!) a little insulting to slaves who were put on a ship and made to work in sugar plantations for 18 hours a day, with the alternative options being torture and death. Or modern day slaves, victims of human trafficking, unable to speak the language, threatened with murder if they try to escape.

It is quite an insulting analogy yet some voters have been brainwashed into thinking they go to their place of work in shackles, and a mysterious overseer in Brussels holds the key to their 'freedom'. That seems to be the only narrative they understand, that they genuinely share a fate with the oppression of slaves. As the poster above says, it is scary some people seem to genuinely accept this idea that the UK has been enslaved.

Considering the country voted to leave i still don't see a problem with what she says.

r4h4al wrote: I think she makes a good argument for Brexit. What is wrong with her comparing being in the EU to Slavery?

Do you not find the current freedoms you hold, to vote, to travel, to work doing whatever you want, to live wherever you want (in Europe!) a little insulting to slaves who were put on a ship and made to work in sugar plantations for 18 hours a day, with the alternative options being torture and death. Or modern day slaves, victims of human trafficking, unable to speak the language, threatened with murder if they try to escape.

It is quite an insulting analogy yet some voters have been brainwashed into thinking they go to their place of work in shackles, and a mysterious overseer in Brussels holds the key to their 'freedom'. That seems to be the only narrative they understand, that they genuinely share a fate with the oppression of slaves. As the poster above says, it is scary some people seem to genuinely accept this idea that the UK has been enslaved.

Considering the country voted to leave i still don't see a problem with what she says.

Yeah, I don't see why all those slaves didn't just vote in a Referendum to not be slaves anymore. Then the masters would have had to follow the democratic will of the people.

It is hardly surprising that the remain side have felt the need to take one line out of the speech and spin it to suit there ends.

The speech was about the undemocratic way that the new leaders had been elected which has been condemned throughout Europe on both sides.She then basically said a list of things including the slaves line where historically the situation has changed.Whilst she was not being diplomatic she was right that the way Europe have elected the new leaders was not democratic and it's because of reasons like it that we are leaving the EU